Patrik Elias

[JacobPaul1995]

In my personal opinion, Patrik Elias is the greatest Devil in the history of the franchise. putting up nearly 1,000 points all for a defense first team? if he had played for say Pittsburgh or Detroit he'd have passed Wayne Gretzky by now. i look up to Elias, and i call him Saint Patrik. i will say that in Denver, i will say it in Montreal, they will say "Roy?" i will say "NO! Elias!". some say "nah marty is the best". well i stand by Patrik and i hope he gets into the HHOF.

 

PS

miss me? lol i haven't posted on here in a while

[DevsMan84]

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down.  I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

 

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer.  Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

[caron14]

Most underatted players in  hockey history

[DevsMan84]

Most underatted players in  hockey history

 

This is true as well.  So overrated to the point where even with all of his accomplishments he will have a really tough time getting into the HHOF if god forbid something happens and he doesn't hit 1000 career points.

[nessus]

Passed Wayne Gretzky? This is Elias we're talking about here. He'd have more points than Gretzky, Yzerman, and Lemieux combined if he played for an offensive team.

 

Welcome back Jacob.

Edited October 14, 2013 by nessus

[The 29th Pick]

Greatest Devil FORWARD of all time

[PWW]

[ThreeCups]

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down.  I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

 

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer.  Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

 

I agree with your pecking order

 

Marty

Scotty

Dano

Elias

Nieds

 

The Devils Mount Rushmore!

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down.  I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

 

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer.  Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

 

All you've gotta do is check which Devils are locks to have their numbers retired:

 

3 of them are already up there.

#30 will be up there soon.

#26 will follow. 

 

#15 is a could've been (MacLean), but it seems extremely unlikely to happen.  Too bad, in that he was a key building block in the Devils' march from NHL nonentity to respected contender. 

 

Would be nice to see a "Ring of Fire" for guys who don't quite make the jersey number cut, but that's a different argument for a different day.

 

In terms of Top 5, I'd list them:

 

1) Brodeur

2) Stevens (though I can understand why some might have Stevens #1)

3) Elias

4) Niedermayer

5) Daneyko

 

Johnny Mac should probably be in that Top 5 somewhere, but even though he's my favorite Devil, I can't knock off any of the five names listed to put his up there.  He's like "5a" to me.

[cgb6397]

Patrik Elias. Bro King

[DevsMan84]

All you've gotta do is check which Devils are locks to have their numbers retired:

 

3 of them are already up there.

#30 will be up there soon.

#26 will follow. 

 

#15 is a could've been (MacLean), but it seems extremely unlikely to happen.  Too bad, in that he was a key building block in the Devils' march from NHL nonentity to respected contender. 

 

Would be nice to see a "Ring of Fire" for guys who don't quite make the jersey number cut, but that's a different argument for a different day.

 

In terms of Top 5, I'd list them:

 

1) Brodeur

2) Stevens (though I can understand why some might have Stevens #1)

3) Elias

4) Niedermayer

5) Daneyko

 

Johnny Mac should probably be in that Top 5 somewhere, but even though he's my favorite Devil, I can't knock off any of the five names listed to put his up there.  He's like "5a" to me.

 

I really wonder if MacLean didn't demand a trade after Lou told him he would be assigned 3rd line duties from then on if he would have had his jersey retired.

[Namelesz]

#26 is the Jersey I usually wear to games (unless its my custom one with my own name on it)

 

Saint Patrik ......I like that..

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I really wonder if MacLean didn't demand a trade after Lou told him he would be assigned 3rd line duties from then on if he would have had his jersey retired.

 

Short answer:  Yes, I think he would have.  There's a good chance he would've finished out his career as a Devil if he was willing to do whatever was asked of him...I think the Devils would've found ways to utilize him effectively to work around his declining skills.  He would've retired with about 400 goals and 800 points or so as Devil, had he gone that way.  He got to score 28 goals for the Rangers (needing 20+ minutes of ice time per game to do it) in 1998-99...I'm guessing if he had it to do over again, he would've taken the Stevens route and been the good soldier, at the expense of glamour numbers. 

 

If he had succeeded as a head coach, I also think a MacLean jersey retirement would've happened in time, but I think the colossal failure that was MacLean's coaching stint pretty much slammed the door shut.   

Edited October 15, 2013 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[Vic Rattlehead18]

Anytime the Devils are doing bad. A thread about Elias is usually the way to go for a pick-me-up thread. ELIAS FTW

[Devilsfan118]

Jesus I was worried this was going to be a "Trade Patty!" panic thread.

 

Faith in njdevs slightly restored.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Jesus I was worried this was going to be a "Trade Patty!" panic thread.

 

Faith in njdevs slightly restored.

 

If the Devils are really looking hopeless this season (I'm staying optimistic), I wonder if he'd ask Lou to be dealt.  I've gotta think he'd like one last chance or two at a Cup, especially if he's playing well.  But sometimes these guys surprise and simply want to stay put, regardless of whether his team is struggling or not. 

 

His contract IS kind of prohibitive...2 more years and $11 million coming to him after this year, and he'll be 38 and 39 years old in those years.  A team would REALLY have to be in "go for it" mode to take that on.   

[Devilsfan118]

If the Devils are really looking hopeless this season (I'm staying optimistic), I wonder if he'd ask Lou to be dealt.  I've gotta think he'd like one last chance or two at a Cup, especially if he's playing well.  But sometimes these guys surprise and simply want to stay put, regardless of whether his team is struggling or not. 

 

His contract IS kind of prohibitive...2 more years and $11 million coming to him after this year, and he'll be 38 and 39 years old in those years.  A team would REALLY have to be in "go for it" mode to take that on.   

 

It might just break what little Devils-spirit I have left right now to see Patty in a different jersey

But, if Lou decides to go into full-on rebuild mode...who knows.

Edited October 14, 2013 by Devilsfan118

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

It might just break what little Devils-spirit I have left right now to see Patty in a different jersey

But, if Lou decides to go into full-on rebuild mode...who knows.

 

It would suck, but I got to see him at his best, got to see him win two Cups...if the Devils fall apart this season, and he decides that's not how he wants to go out, I would understand and respect it.  Depending on what team he wound up going to (as in NOT the Rangers and select others), I'd probably root for his team to win it all. 

 

Of course, we are getting WAY ahead of ourselves...the Devils CAN still turn this damned thing around. 

[Lateralous]

Patrik Elias is my favorite Devil of all-time hands down. I think he is easily in the top 5 greatest Devils ever, but I would not say #1.

For that I would say it is probably Brodeur with Stevens a close 2nd, then Daneyko, then Elias and then Niedermayer. Brodeur is not even in my top 10 personal favorite Devils of all time, but when any hockey fan thinks of the Devils, they immediately think of Marty.

I know everyone loves Dano for being Mr. Devil but at this point, hasn't Elias done enough over a long enough period of time that he's clearly ahead of Dano? The A-Line was such a pleasure to watch in their prime and for a couple of years in the early 2000s, I think he was the best LW in game. Naslund typically had more points but Elias was a true sniper and a two way star. Edited October 15, 2013 by Lateralous

[cgb6397]

I know everyone loves Dano for being Mr. Devil but at this point, hasn't Elias done enough over a long enough period of time that he's clearly ahead of Dano? The A-Line was such a pleasure to watch in their prime and for a couple of years in the early 2000s, I think he was the best LW in game. Naslund typically had more points but Elias was a true sniper and a two way star.

Dano is Mr.Devil in part because of his appearance. But if there's a forward version of Mr.Devil, a Mrs.Devil, if you will, it's Elias

[The 29th Pick]

Let us not forget a few years back when Patty was a UFA and the rags offered him a contract, and he decided to stay here....nuff said

[2ELIAS6]

do love elias.. one of the only loyal ones to stick around here his whole career.. definently under rated and doesnt get the recognition he should.

[Devilsfan118]

Let us not forget a few years back when Patty was a UFA and the rags offered him a contract, and he decided to stay here....nuff said

You mean, when he used a Rangers contract offer as leverage against Lou to get a better deal. Totally within his rights to do so, and it'd be foolish to hold ill will against him.

I love Patty as much as anyone, but there's no sense pretending that wasn't what was actually going on.

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

You mean, when he used a Rangers contract offer as leverage against Lou to get a better deal. Totally within his rights to do so, and it'd be foolish to hold ill will against him.

I love Patty as much as anyone, but there's no sense pretending that wasn't what was actually going on.

 

Depending on who/what you believe, supposedly Elias would've signed with the Rangers, except that Sather refused to give him a no-trade clause. 

 

I've said this before, but I think there were definitely times where Elias wondered if he made the right decision in signing that 7-year deal and staying.  It's kind of being forgotten now, but the first two years of that deal were rough (mostly due to incredibly bad shooting luck)...at one point, from 2/17/07 to 11/10/07 (including the 2006-07 playoffs), he scored just 4 goals in 44 games, and was really starting to hear about it.  In his first 16 games of the 2007-08 season, he had 2 goals and 5 assists, and was a -7 to boot.  And he just looked completely lost at that point...and incredibly frustrated.  He spent so much time looking up at the ceiling as shot after shot after shot wasn't going in for him.  He must have felt so snakebit...it was like the hockey gods were purposely fvcking with him.  

 

Well, suffice it to say, he did turn it around.  He put up 18 goals and 32 assists in the final 58 games of his 2007-08 season, then put up 31 goals and 47 assists in 77 GP the following year.  But I think it's been hard on him at times during those seven years...I can't say exactly when it was, but at some point, I think he stopped wondering whether or not he should have stayed, simply made his peace with his decision, and truly embraced the possibility of being a career Devil.       

Edited October 15, 2013 by Colorado Rockies 1976

[2ELIAS6]

everyone has bad streaks.. when was the last time zajac scored a goal? id like to know.. henrique too he has one for the season so far but when was the last time before that? players have to go out and see what other teams are willing to pay for them (example clarkson) .. at the end of a day it is nothing more then a business to 99% of them forget being loyal here or there it is all about the all mighty dollar just like everything else in this world.